ChemMatters is celebrating the 40th anniversary of Earth Day with its second episode, which highlights how scientists are trying to make plastic, one of the world's most abundant man-made materials, more environmentally friendly.

In this episode, find out how scientists are developing "greener" plastics using plant materials. By 2020, these bioplastics could provide an alternative for about a fifth of the estimated 200 billion pounds of plastics manufactures produce each year worldwide.

 What’s inside of one-sixth of the world’s population and is a thousand times smaller than the head of a pin? It’s Helicobacter pylori, the pesky bacterium behind ulcers and other unpleasant stomach diseases. In our latest episode, find out more about H. pylori, and how a scientist from Spain named Javier Sancho may have a new way to fight this common microbe. 

Taking sharper aim at pesky stomach ulcer bacteria from ACS Pressroom on Vimeo.

Our new video answers that question and other holiday chem queries in high-definition detail. Check it out!

Festive Science! A Holiday Chem Lab from ACS Pressroom on Vimeo.

Using the magic of chemistry, the video shows students how to make:
•    A colorful, bouncing super ball made with polymers.
•    A snow globe-like stick, consisting of a test tube filled with water, glitter and glycerine. The glycerine slows the glitter and makes it look like snowflakes falling when the tube is shaken.
•    A marbleized gift card made with shaving cream, paper and various food colorings.

Why do people eat mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving Day but not mashed paper towels? That’s not such an odd question from a chemistry standpoint because potato and paper are almost as similar as two peas in a pod in terms of the carbohydrates they contain.

For the answer to that and other topics that could spark dinnertime conversation on Thursday, check out our latest video featuring Diane Bunce, Ph.D., professor of chemistry at Catholic University of America and associate editor for Chemical Education research for ACS’ Journal of Chemical Education.

Thanksgiving and Chemistry: What's the connection? from ACS Pressroom on Vimeo.

The video focuses on traditional Thanksgiving foods, including topics such as:
• How does the pop-up timer in a turkey work?
• Why do muffins rise, even when made without yeast?
• Which antacids neutralize the most stomach acid?
 

The award-winning high school chemistry magazine ChemMatters is making its YouTube debut with its first ever video podcast. The first episode highlights the very big promise of those very small machines known as nanotechnology. The episode explains how incredibly small nanostructures like buckyballs could lead to tiny devices that bring medicine exactly where it needs to go in your body, as well as powerful computers the size of a grain of sand or vital new sources of energy.

Let us know what you think of the episode with a comment! And make sure to click the full-screen button so you can watch the video in its full HD glory. 

ChemMatters has been demystifying the chemistry at work in our everyday lives for over 25 years. Released quarterly, each issue is full of readable articles about the chemistry used in everyday life, and is of interest to budding chemists and their teachers alike. New episodes of the ChemMatters video podcast will be available in early 2010. For more entertaining video podcasts from the ACS, subscribe to Bytesize Science on iTunes.

While many kids his age mow lawns or babysit to earn spending money, Anshul Samar tried something different. He invented a game. And not just any game. It’s called Elementeo and it’s all about the chemical elements. Find out more about Anshul's awesome game in the last of four National Chemistry Week-themed podcasts:

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